High performance polymers such as polyetherimide and polycarbonate can be made into ultra-fine powders, for example, powders comprising particles having a diameter of less than or equal to 100 micrometers (μm), by emulsifying the polymer in an organic solvent, and further removing the organic solvent from the emulsion through distillation. Information relevant to such methods can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,611. However, particles made by such an emulsion distillation process can result in a poor yield of the particles. In particular, the yield of the particles can be less than 90%. In addition, achieving particles having an average size of 20 to 100 μm remains a challenge using known techniques.
Therefore, there is a need for an optimized process in order to obtain spherical polymer particles having an average size of 20 to 100 μm in a higher yield for commercial feasibility. Applications including additive manufacturing and powder coating can benefit from such a process.